News

Clinic fuels false MMR fears

The Children’s Immunisation Centre has been accused of irresponsible behaviour (Geoff Caddick)

PRIVATE clinics selling single measles vaccines have been accused of putting
children’s health at risk by using discredited research on the risks of
autism to drum up trade.

The Children’s Immunisation Centre, which has clinics in cities including
London, Manchester and Birmingham, is wrongly suggesting a link between the
triple MMR jab and autism, even though research behind the claim was shown
to be fraudulent years ago.

The centre boasts that it has provided single vaccines — a full course of
which costs up to £730 — to 20,000 children. The MMR vaccine is free on the
NHS. This weekend the centre was offering single jabs in Swansea, which is
at the heart of a measles epidemic blamed on the MMR scare.

The centre advertises single vaccines for mumps, measles and rubella as the
“comfortable and safe choice for your children”. It goes on to argue that
the MMR vaccine can cause